How London City Lionesses’ marquee signing could shape their first WSL season – and her own England future
“Katie Zelem Photo” by James Boyes is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Introduction: A Historic Step Meets a Proven Leader
London City Lionesses step into the Barclays Women’s Super League for the first time as pioneers – the WSL’s first fully independent women’s club. In a league where most sides lean on men’s club infrastructures, the Lionesses stand alone, building their own identity and future.
To bridge the gap between fresh ambition and hardened WSL reality, they needed more than just talent. They needed leadership, pedigree, and a figure who understands what it means to take a new team and turn it into winners.
In Katie Zelem (29), they may have found the perfect fit.
The Career Blueprint: Why Zelem Matters
Few players in women’s football carry a résumé as deliberately tied to building as Zelem’s. Her CV is decorated with medals, but what makes her unique is how often those medals came in foundational seasons:
Liverpool (2013 & 2014) – Two WSL titles in her early career, when the Reds were establishing themselves as the league’s benchmark.
Juventus (2017–18) – A Serie A crown in their inaugural women’s season, making her one of the first to lift a trophy in black and white.
Manchester United (2018–2019) – The heartbeat of Casey Stoney’s side that stormed the FA Women’s Championship in their first year back in women’s football, and later, United’s first FA Cup in 2024.
This pattern – arriving early, embedding herself into the project, and emerging with silverware – resonates perfectly with London City’s aspirations. For a debutant WSL side, Zelem offers something rare: not just experience, but experience of building from scratch.
Leadership: From Young Captain to Unifier
Zelem became captain of Manchester United Women in 2019, at just 23 years old. Initially, by her own admission, she was “quite direct, quite straight talking.” But over six years, she evolved into a captain who emphasized connection and inclusion:
“The more you got to know people, the more receptive they were of information… I wanted everyone to feel they had a voice.”
For a Lionesses side balancing youth, new signings, and the step up to elite level, such a leadership style is gold. London City don’t just need a leader who shouts standards – they need someone to bind personalities, accelerate cohesion, and nurture confidence.
That ability to unify, paired with her England pedigree (12 senior caps, World Cup runner-up in 2023), ensures her presence commands instant respect.
The Footballing Brain: Midfield Control
Zelem’s technical profile makes her an ideal midfield anchor for London City.
Playmaking: She thrives in central midfield, knitting defense to attack with composure and vision. Her range of passing, especially progressive balls between lines, can set the tempo against stronger WSL opponents.
Set-Piece Specialist: With 17 WSL set-piece assists – a record, she is among the league’s deadliest dead-ball deliverers. For a promoted side, where margins against top-half opponents are fine, her ability to turn corners and free kicks into goals is an invaluable weapon.
Direct Threat: In 2022, she famously scored three goals directly from corners in two matches, underlining her audacity and technique.
Tactical Adaptability: Her career shows versatility – thriving as a winger in early days, then a deeper pivot or box-to-box midfielder, and even adapting between the tactical demands of the WSL, Serie A’s technical precision, and the NWSL’s physical battles.
This blend of football IQ, technical consistency, and adaptability should allow her to become London City’s on-pitch metronome.
Angel City & the NWSL: Lessons Abroad
Zelem’s brief spell at Angel City FC in the NWSL offered two lessons she can now export back to London:
Physicality vs. Tactics: She noted how the NWSL was faster and more physical, while the WSL is more tactical. Having lived both, she now blends resilience with technical control – a hybrid skillset ideal for a team facing diverse WSL opposition.
Commercial Mindset: The NWSL’s off-field sophistication broadened her perspective. Zelem has spoken openly about financial literacy for players and her own ambitions beyond football (she is completing a Master’s in business and holds a UEFA B License). This dual lens – player and future executive – makes her attuned to what it means to build sustainable, independent clubs.
Why She Left Manchester United
Her departure from Manchester United was telling. After six seasons, her contract expired, and amid INEOS’s takeover and reported budget cuts disproportionately affecting the women’s side, Zelem chose a fresh challenge.
She had captained them through their rise, but sensed priorities elsewhere. London City, by contrast, offered a clean slate: a club that, as she put it, makes women’s football the priority rather than a branch.
This context makes her London move not just a transfer, but almost a statement of principle: aligning herself with a club where women’s football stands alone.
The Winning Mentality
Zelem’s career ethos can be summed up in her own words (when joining Angel City):
“I’ve been at three different teams and I’ve won something at every team I’ve been at. I don’t want this to be the odd one out.”
That relentless standard matters. For London City, survival may be the practical aim, but Zelem’s mentality reframes the conversation: why just survive, when you can compete?
England Ambitions: Can London City Relaunch Her Lionesses Career?
Zelem was part of England’s 2023 World Cup squad that finished runners-up, but she hasn’t always been a regular pick for Sarina Wiegman. The midfield competition is fierce – Walsh, Stanway, Toone, and others are all in contention.
The risk, of course, is that playing for a struggling side (if London City fight relegation) could diminish her visibility. But if her track record holds, she thrives in proving people wrong.
What She Offers London City Lionesses (Season Outlook)
Experience & Credibility: Instantly raises the squad’s level by bringing England caps, European medals, and captaincy experience.
Tactical Control: Gives London City a midfield organizer who can manage games against superior opponents.
Set-Piece Threat: Provides a “free weapon” in matches where the team will create fewer chances from open play.
Culture & Unity: Her leadership style – empowering, unifying, and demanding – can accelerate squad cohesion.
Winning Pedigree: Embeds a high-performance mentality, showing younger teammates what “standards” look like at trophy-winning clubs.
Conclusion: More Than Just a Signing
Katie Zelem’s move to London City Lionesses is more than a transfer. It’s a collision of histories: a club entering uncharted territory as the WSL’s first independent, and a player whose career has been defined by building new projects into success stories.
Her ability to lead, dictate midfield battles, and bring a winning mentality could be the decisive factor in whether London City merely survive – or announce themselves as a force to be reckoned with.
For Zelem herself, this is both a new chapter and a test. Can she once again be the architect of a club’s rise? And in doing so, can she reassert her claim to an England place?
If history is a guide, London City may have just signed the perfect pioneer.
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